Harmanpreet spoke with
Boria Majumdar on preparations, pressure, expectations and what the World Cup means to the team. Excerpts:
Captaining the team in a World Cup on home soil in front of your home crowd, it can’t get bigger than this for you.
Haan bhaisaab. (Yes, brother.) It is a huge occasion. We don’t know when the World Cup will be back on Indian soil; this is a big opportunity. We are aware of the significance of the occasion and we have prepared accordingly. For example, there will be a lot of noise in the ground. So the players may not be able to hear the instructions properly. We have been talking about such things and planning for every possible issue that can come up. We don’t want to leave anything to chance.
You scored 18 Pro League goals in 2022. You are India’s best drag flicker. How are you looking at the responsibility?
2022 was a very good year for me. And to score goals against the best teams in the world is always a great feeling. But it is not me alone. Drag flick is a process. Each one has a role. It is only after the ball is stopped that I come in. So, it is not me alone who should get credit. Each one of us have a designated role and it is about performing the role to perfection. And, also prepare for the situations when things don’t go to plan. Say, if the ball isn’t properly stopped, and it can happen in a crucial moment in the match, what are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to react? If you have prepared for those situations only then you can get the best out of a drag flick opportunity.
The team travelled to Australia in December. The results (India lost series 1-4) did not go your way but it must have been a good preparation to play against one of the best teams in the world?
Absolutely and they are ranked at the top of the ladder. When you play against such teams, you learn a lot. If you see we were competitive throughout. Even in the game where we lost 4-7, we managed to create opportunities. We weren’t overawed. We matched Australia in creating the number of opportunities. That’s the big learning. That we can play against these teams and create goal-scoring chances. It will be important for us to convert these opportunities in the World Cup and make the most of them. The Australia tour was a great learning for the team.
There was a special drag flick camp with Bram Lomans last month. Could you tell us about your experience?
It was a good camp, but it wasn’t a camp where he wanted us to change anything. In fact, we were told very clearly that things didn’t need to change at this point. Each one of us have a style of play and we have our own techniques. It isn’t right to make any radical changes so close to the World Cup. What was very important about the camp was the small nuances we were told about and trained for. That’s where you learn. Like I said earlier, if the ball isn’t stopped properly ahead of the drag flick, what should we do; what are our options; how do we react quickly and adapt. These things make a huge difference in a tense game.
Have you started to visualise? Have you thought about what it could mean to you and the team if you make it to the podium?
Every single day. It will be the moment of our lives. To win a World Cup for our country on home soil is a dream all of us have. We will give it everything we have to fulfil this dream. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we will not let it go. Tokyo was a turning point in our lives, and this could be even bigger.
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